Mahalia Freed ND

Simple Summer Black Bean Salad

Monday, July 5th, 2010 | Uncategorized

Black beans are a staple in my summer kitchen. Rich in nutrients from folic acid (256 mcg per cup) to calcium (46 mg per cup), black beans are a good source of plant protein (15 g per cup) and a very high source of fibre at (15 g per cup). Use this recipe as a guide, and add in whatever you have on hand. Bean salads like this one are great on nights when it is too hot to turn on the stove, and perfect as a light summer lunch. Serve with crackers and green salad if desired.

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Tags: recipes

Mahalia’s Favorite Quinoa Salad

Thursday, May 6th, 2010 | Articles

Adapted from: “A Call to Women: The Healthy Breast Program and Workbook” by Sat Dharam Kaur, ND

Ingredients:

Salad

• 1 2/3 cups dry quinoa
• 3 1/3 cups water
• 1 cup chopped or grated carrots
• 3/4 cup chopped parsley (or cilantro)
• 1/2 cup cucumber, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup red pepper, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup sunflower seeds (or 1 can of black beans, drained)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced (can use roasted if desired)
• 1/2 cup soaked* arame, wakame or hijiki (seaweeds)

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Tags: detox, recipes

Fiddleheads!

Wednesday, April 21st, 2010 | Articles, New

Like Forsythias in their opera of yellow, and magnolias in their pink or white blossom-song, fiddlehead season is short, sometimes only 2 weeks. Fiddleheads are wild, their joy fleeting, their origin and taste unique. The fiddlehead is the new growth of an ancient plant family, the ferns. While there are many species of ferns, the fiddleheads available in Ontario markets in late April or early May are usually those of the Ostrich Fern. Interestingly, fiddleheads resist cultivation (they prefer swampy edges of woods), and are one of the few commercially available wild-crafted foods. Fiddleheads taste like…themselves. Some people compare their flavor to a combination of asparagus, green beans and okra. They are great on their own, in pasta salad, in frittata, lightly pickled, with other delicious seasonal veggies. The joy of eating fiddleheads, though, goes beyond their fresh green flavor and nutrient density: There is also the satisfaction we get from being in alignment with what is local and in season – an intellectual satisfaction born of making an ethical, politically-correct food choices, but also a purely physical one, as we nourish our bodies with truly spring food. Increase veggie variety in your diet, join the local seasonal bandwagon, support internal detoxification: try fiddleheads this year! Below is a recipe to get you started. › Continue reading

Tags: detox, recipes, spring

Beautiful Beets: Beyond Borscht

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010 | Articles

Mahalia Freed, ND

Beets have always appealed to my aesthetic sense, with their rich colour, and the beautiful rings that show when you slice them the right way.  One of the few vegetables available locally, year round, beets are affordable, nourishing, and easy to prepare. Furthermore, they are a traditional blood building and liver cleansing food.  March heralds spring, the season for liver support and cleansing. What better time to get reacquainted with beets?

The pigment that gives purple beets their gorgeous colour, betacyanin, is an antioxidant known to have powerful cancer-fighting properties. In the research, it is particularly effective against colon cancer. Beets are known as a “liver food” due to their betaine content. Betaine, or trimethylglycine, specifically supports phase II liver detoxification. It is also anti-inflammatory. Beyond their fibre content, beets contain folic acid (136 mcg per cup, boiled). While folic acid’s importance for preventing neural tube defects in utero is well known, the nutrient is essential for healthy cell division in general, making a diet rich in folic acid important for cancer and dysplasia-prevention. As well, beets have been researched for their ability to help normalize elevated blood pressure, increase HDL (good cholesterol), and decrease triglycerides. Who could have guessed? For cardiovascular health, liver health, detoxification, and fertility, go, beets!

NB: If your urine or stool is red after consuming beets, don’t be alarmed! It is simply the beet pigments. You may actually use this to assess your bowel transit time and kidney function: how long until you see red?

For more information about beets, from history to nutrition to health benefits, see the write up at World’s Healthiest Foods: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=49

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Tags: detox, recipes

The Kale Crusader Speaks

Sunday, October 25th, 2009 | Articles

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Sunshine! Blossoms! Longer days! What do our bodies need, as we move gratefully into Spring & Summer and increased outward activity? Part of any naturopathic treatment plan is optimizing nutrition. Just as in a garden you prepare and enrich the soil before you plant, so food choices nourish your body, so that you may flourish and achieve your health goals. Whether your current concern is increasing energy or enhancing fertility, ensuring that your foundational nutrients are as strong as possible is a priority. And, it is something you can do for yourself and for those with whom you share meals.

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Tags: calcium, cancer, detox, recipes